Strength: Are you feeling weak lately?

Have you ever found yourself in a position of overwhelming weakness? Or you're just plain old exhausted?

I find myself in that place frequently.

Here's a scripture I've been memorizing for the last few weeks . . .

I've been sapped of strength emotionally, spiritually and physically. Then one day it hit me as I read this scripture.

The Lord is my strength. IS

So I started praying this over and over whenever I felt depleted and you know what?

I got strength. It's astounding to me and so simple - all we have to do is ask and pray and God's IS gets transferred to us spiritually.

Now, I'm focusing on the shield part of this verse. We don't use them nowadays but once they were a warrior's key piece of armor. She held the shield in front of her to protect her body from the weapons of the enemy.

Hmmm. I just may have to try this too!

Your turn: Have you leaned on God for your strength lately? Have you asked him to supply what you're lacking?

Are there levels of faith and does yours measure up?

On Sundays, this space is reserved for God stories. As one of the redeemed, I'd like to share just some of the many things he's done in my life. I hope you'll be encouraged by them!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story - those he redeemed from the hand of the foe. Psalm 107:1-2

Last week I was in Jerusalem for the Easter and Passover holidays.

I've always considered myself to be a faithful person, but then I visited Church of the Sepulchre, which is believed to be the burial place of Jesus.

People come to pray and worship, and it was packed with Easter pilgrims.

I watched the women as they prayed. I watched their bodies as they bent and reached and kissed the Stone of Unction, which is the stone Jesus' body was placed upon after he was taken down from the cross.

This is where the "American me" kicked in. As they were kissing and rubbing it, I thought about germs.

I'm not kidding.

But, I still wanted to touch it, so I squeezed in that open space next to the lady in blue.

I thought it was crazy to come all that way and not touch it, so I laid my hands on it and prayed that Jesus would heal my body and my husband's.

And the lady in blue,  really got in my personal bubble space. She was moving back and forth, gently bumping me. She was "washing" the stone... with holy water or something. She had a bag full of folded notes and clothing and she would rub and pray. I couldn't figure out what was going on, so I looked.

Gosh - I think I look irritated in the picture, but I wasn't - I was just curious. Ok, I kind of was irritated that she was hogging the holiness out of the stone and not taking turns. I looked in her bag and realized...she had clothing in there.

                                                  She was rubbing underwear on it.

Many things run through my head about this, but the bottom line is that this woman was faithful.

She came to the stone with work to do, and nothing was going to stop her from praying over her notes and clothing.

I came and left empty handed and wondering about my level of faith. The Lord told me not to compare, because to him there's no such thing as levels. What matters to him is the heart and the belief that lies within it.

I'm curious. How do you come before God in prayer?

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Heb 11:1

Do You Celebrate The Small Things?

"C'mon baby," I said, furiously pumping my arms. I took a deep breath and straightened up for a moment, trying to ease the searing pain in my back and arms.

I bent over and tried again. Pump, pump, pump.

My CPR training kicked in; I regathered my strength and went at it for what seemed like the hundredth time.

No luck. I stood up and cursed it, "Stupid toilet!"

Out of breath and frustrated, I leaned against the bathroom wall for a minute. I'd been trying to clear a clog in the girl's bathroom for the better part of the day. The girls had been unable to fix it and after awhile, my mind started to mess with me.

      Remember when you used to be able to do this with no problem?

           Remember when you used to run, jump and dance any time you wanted?

                 Remember when...

Remembering when is dangerous territory for me. As soon as I recognize these words of self-pity roaming around my mind, I shut them down, turn them off and kill them if I have to.

I turned my attention back to the toilet but before I started, I prayed: "Please Lord. I need your help. We can do this."
                            Pump. Pump. Pump. Again and three more times and...  flush.

I did a little dance, hobbled downstairs to Katya and said, "Success! I have just unclogged your toilet. You're Welcome!" and then I wiggled a little more. Katya said, "Wow mom. You're acting like that was a big victory."

Any victory turns into big things for Fibro Warriors. Celebrating keeps our spirits up and I think it also gives God a little smile.

                                         Do you have any victories of your own to share?

Sunday Psalms and Stories: God Answers Prayer

On Sundays, this space is reserved for God's stories. As one of the redeemed, I'd like to share just some of the many things he's done in my life. I hope you'll be encouraged by them!

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story - those he redeemed from the hand of the foe. Psalm 107:1-2

Scripture can be hard to understand. For instance, a few years ago, my girls and I were traveling in London and before we went touring for the day, we had Bible study in our hotel room. Basically, I stuck my finger randomly in the Bible and read the scripture. Here's the one I poked out:

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:19.

This was a verse I'd pondered over for years and I couldn't explain it to my children. After all, what did it mean to "speak in poetry, hymns and spiritual songs?" We cracked some jokes and tried singing to each other, but it wasn't helpful. 

Fast forward to sightseeing: After visiting the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace, we stumbled upon Westminster Abbey. It was awe inspiring and too huge for one camera lens...

It was late afternoon, we were exhausted but hoped to see inside. We circled the building to find that we'd just missed the final tour. The girls were happy, but I was sad - there are tombs inside and I wanted to see them!

So we're milling around the front entrance, trying to figure out where to have dinner and all of a sudden, this massive door is opened by a priest in a long robe.

My mother-in-law (that's her in the bottom right corner with the huge bag) decides to ask the priest what time the tour will be tomorrow. As she approached he said, "Are you here for the service?" She looked at me with my wide eyes and said, "Yes. Yes, we are."

As she coaxed my irritated daughters inside, I whispered, "Oooh. You just lied to a priest!" She said, "Well, let's go inside and ask for forgiveness."

The Abbey is one of the most beautiful and sacred places I've ever been in and since cameras aren't allowed, I can't show you. They held a service in the middle of it and we watched as a row of priests and choir members glided in. Then the service began...

It was entirely in music - even the scripture was in song. Not one word was spoken.

My kids were bored to tears but as I followed along and read the program, I was overcome with joy. My Heavenly Father was showing me: This is how it's done.

Just hours after I'd asked him to help me understand that difficult verse, he answered my prayer in a way I'd never dreamed.
                                                                             
                                                                                                  He is faithful and wonderful!

Monday Blessings

     Sometimes as believers, we go through intense seasons of struggle. I've been in one of those seasons for a over a year and its worn me down. But I have a high priest who knows what it's like to be weary. He knows how to stand with us, strengthen us and walk beside us even as others fight and rebel against us.

     During these times, I soak in the words of prayers like these. This prayer is attributed to St. Patrick and is often referred to as St. Patrick's Breastplate or The Deer's Cry. St. Patrick supposedly composed it in preparation for his fight against paganism in Ireland. 

     I pray it somehow blesses and strengthens you as you fight your own life battles.

I arise today 

                                          Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through belief in the Threeness,

Through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.

I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Friday Follow Ups # 5 - June

This story happened so fast, that I didn't even get a chance to post about it, but since it's one of God's stories, I'm going to follow up anyway...

I looked down at the number ringing through on my cell phone and my heart sank. It was my brother.

          Does that ever happen to you?

A person's number shows up and you start to ache in the pit of your stomach? I have a few people in my life that cause that to happen, and my brother's one of them.

His calls almost never come with good news.

This time it was worse. He was calling to tell me that on Wednesday, he was going to be homeless. He'd been laid off of a new job several weeks before and wasn't able to make rent or child support. I had no idea, I assumed he was working. Homelessness was bad enough, but frankly I was more worried about him going to jail for delinquent child support.

After a flurry of texts and phone calls back and forth, I felt a tremendous need to pray on my face for him. So I did.

Facedown is an appropriate prayer position for God's people:

But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out... Numbers 16:22

Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly...Numbers 14:5

...And they fell facedown. Numbers 16:45

Facedown I prayed for my brother, and then I called on some of my prayer warrior friends. I asked them to pray for God's favor and then again, for a job opportunity. Here's the result:

*  Later that day, his landlord personally took care of his rental payment for one month.
*  He enrolled in several programs to help get himself back on his feet.
*  Wednesday, he texted me and told me he had not one, but two job interviews.
*  Today he called and told me that both companies liked him and the best one...
      hired him.

There's a little more to this story that I'm going to post about tomorrow, but for today, I praise God for his goodness and provision. He is WONDER FULL and so are my friends!!

Blessings

Ah Monday! It's here again and even though I work at home, I kind of dread Mondays. I think I need to change my Sundays in order to feel better about the week ahead.

But, we can't go back again, we can only move forward. 

Here's a prayer I found while reading Numbers yesterday. It's called "The Priestly Blessing" and was given, by God, to Moses as a way to bless the Israelites.

The LORD bless you

   and keep you;

the LORD make his face shine on you

  and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn his face toward you

  and give you peace.

                                                                                                    Numbers 6:24-26

The next verse says, "So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them." (v 27)

That ancient blessing encompasses five areas: bless and keep you (favor and protection)
                                                                         face shine on you (be pleased)
                                                                         be gracious (merciful and compassionate)
                                                                         turn his face (give his approval)
                                                                         give peace (speaks for itself!)                                                                       
                                                                                                  Life Application Study Bible (NIV)

God loves us. He wants to bless us and put His name on us.

I hope the prayer blesses you as you start your week!

Love Your Enemies

Talk about expecting surprises! In my last post, I told you I'd prayed for hospitality opportunities. God is so good and so faithful that he answered that prayer again. He's given me two opportunities in three days. However, this time is a little different.

This time he's given me the opportunity to host an enemy. That's right, my challenge today is to love an enemy.

But to you who are listening I say, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." Luke 6:27 (emphasis mine)

Almost a year ago, my daughter, Dania, experienced a cyber-attack. She was maligned by hundreds of people via the internet - some of them were people she didn't even know. Some of them were her friends, or so she thought. They texted her, cursed her and told her how worthless she was - and that she should just kill herself. These people passed her phone number around for kicks.

She was so hurt by it, that she sank into a life threatening depression. She required hospitalization,  intensive counseling, and a new phone number. While in recovery, one of the friends she'd managed to keep, turned on her and sent a text calling her a crazy b*#%h and told her (once again) to kill herself.

My daughter has experienced more betrayal in her short 16-years than most people experience in a lifetime. We talked about forgiving this girl, and understanding where she was mentally when she did it. The friend, we'll call her "Kim," apologized and expressed remorse. Dania had a very hard time accepting her apology. Then, Kim started a pattern of harassment that continued for weeks. She even sent texts to my phone! I was grateful to be rid of her and grateful that though Dania learned to forgive, this child wouldn't be in her life anymore.

So imagine my surprise, when Kim showed up in my kitchen the other night.

Dania asked if Kim could spend the night, and because she has several friends with that same name, I said, "Sure!"

Now she's here. She's been here for two days and I'm trying my best to see her through Jesus' eyes. I'm not going to lie...it's difficult. I'm filled with many emotions, and my daughter (I can feel it) is watching me.

Teenagers can spot a hypocrite a mile away.

And God is the master at giving us the opportunity to practice what we preach. I'll let you know how it goes.

Hospitality

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. Matt 21:22

Do you find this to be true in your life? I do.

God is continually showing me the power of my prayers. As a result, I'm becoming more selective in what and how I pray. I expect him to answer because of the promise Jesus made. The other day, something awesome happened...

I'm reading through an old book called Hospitality: Expecting Surprises, by Michele Hershberger. I'm about a quarter of the way through and it's already changing the way I think about the topic. In one sentence she says this:

"Sometimes we don't to be hospitable because we fear the experience."

How true this is for me! Growing up, I was a latch key kid. I lived behind locked doors, always being wary of strangers. Hospitality is difficult because I have to push through so many unhealthy obstacles in my thinking. Sometimes I'm afraid to open myself up to strangers, and most times I just want to be left alone.

But I don't want to miss out on meeting an angel, so I'm trying to get better at it. The Bible says this about hospitality: Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

Now, back to the praying part: On Wednesday morning, I went into my closet, shut the door and prayed, "Dear God. Help me to be willing to take risks in the area of hospitality. Help us to see strangers and meet their needs."

I expected him to answer that prayer.

At about 2:00 on Wednesday afternoon, my husband called. He said, "Hey hon. Two strangers, a man and a woman, came up to me and asked if I could give them a ride. Do you think I should?"

What?!

I got so excited I could hardly talk. I told him about my prayer and he said, "Well, I told them No. They have a backpack and look a little sketchy, but I just saw them walking down the road and it's just nagging at me that I should turn around and give them a ride."

We agreed that he should, and then my daughter and I prayed for his safety.

He called me about a half an hour later to tell me he was safe. They were a young, homeless couple and were grateful for the ride. They told him if he'd hadn't shown up, they would have had to wait three hours for the bus to take them to where they were going. They also asked if he had any work they could do. He also told me they smelled like weed.

I'm pretty sure an angel wouldn't smell like weed.  Also, I wonder why God answered my prayer through my husband?

Ultimately, I don't care because it's always cool to watch and see how God's going to answer a prayer. I look forward to his surprises, don't you?

Praying Privately

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matt 6:6

Unseen.

What a powerful word. Many images come to mind when I think of something, or someone as being unseen. I see a poor child huddled against a wall in a third world country. I see a beautiful, but dusty old chair hidden in an attic. I see a middle aged woman typing on her computer in the kitchen with dreams unfulfilled. Oh wait! How'd I get in there?

All these images are negative in some way. To be unseen in this day and age is to be unimportant and irrelevant. In our video obsessed culture I wonder if all the "glory" we give to God, is the same as a hypocrite standing on a street corner in an ancient city (Matt 6:5). I wonder if when I post certain things, I'm really saying, Look at me. Look at the awesome things I'm doing for Jesus!

Here's another thing He said:

Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. Matt 6:1

This morning, in my prayer time I realized, if I really want to be like my father, I need to be willing to remain unseen. I need to change the way I think about that word and the images I associate with it. I also wondered...Would we be actually be able to do miracles?

In my study Bible, Matt 6:6 cross references to a passage in 2 Kings 4:33: The prophet Elisha arrived at his friend's house to find her small son lying dead on his couch:

He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord.

He was able to give that boy, fully alive, back to his mother after he went in alone, shut the door and prayed.

Do you have a private place of prayer? Perhaps a little room somewhere with a door or a prayer closet? I'm thinking about changing my prayer place to one that's a little more private and I'd love to hear your thoughts or any ideas you have about special prayer places.

Living to please Him,

   Erika

Purposeful Pain

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me - a prayer to the God of my life.
                                               Psalm 42:8

I woke up twice early this morning - once at 3:30 and then again at 4:20. The first time I was a little foggy and thought, Darn it! What woke me up? but I had a sense there would be pain... even though I couldn't feel it. I felt it at 4:20.

It's now the all too familiar aching, numbness and burning. I got out the medicine and heating pad, laid down and let the tears flow.

I cried not because of the pain, but out of gratitude to God. In my last post, I told you there's an upside to my affliction. I cried because I felt the faintest glimmer of hope for the first time in a long time.

I felt God's comfort and reassurance. I felt His presence in my room early this morning.

There is good and purpose in my pain. If nothing else, it has made me very conscious of what people who live with chronic pain (like my husband) must go through every day. It has made me sympathetic. My pain is the result of an auto "incident" which is like an accident with no impact, but it will come to an end eventually.

It's a long story, but basically my thoracic spine is frozen right now. My physical therapist said it will probably take anywhere from six to sixteen weeks for the pain to subside. He also said it's going to suck for me and manipulation may make it worse. At least he's honest!

I'm hopeful and praying that it'll subside in the shorter time frame, but even if it doesn't, I'm better for it. I'm also now interceding in prayer for people I wouldn't have thought to pray for before this experience; those suffering in silence.

Prayer: Lord, today I praise you for hope! I pray for your comfort and healing for the so many people who live with daily pain. Amen.

Affliction

Af.flic.tion: Something that causes pain or suffering.

I feel like I may have worried some of my friends with my last Pity-Party post, so I'm going to use this post to explain more fully:)

I guess my family and I are under a period of "affliction." 

For well over a year now, each of us has been having random accidents, illness, physical injury, irritants, mental problems. Even my dog's been affected. Normally, I'm a "suck it up" person. I just suck it up and deal with whatever it is. But after this long you start to think REALLY?

              Is this ever going to end?

Are we ever going to sleep again? Because I don't even remember what that feels like.

Then the devil gets in and starts saying things like, "Nope. It's never, ever, going to end. EVER. This is how the rest of your life will stay." "You'll be in pain forever."

I know my God is bigger, but I admit that I 'd started to believe those voices in my head.

There is an upside to this though. Many upsides in fact, but the main one is growth. So that I don't remain in the pit part of the pity, I'm going to fight back in the way I know best.

With patience and praise.

I thank you God that you are trustworthy and true. I praise your holiness and your purpose in all things.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

Teaching Kids To See God at Work

Today in my Greek study these words hit me with full force:

"You have to crawl before walking."

The author was talking about the tedious study of grammar, but it applies to how I'm teaching my kids to know God. Before we can trust someone, we have to know them. We have to know they're trustworthy. But how do you reinforce this with adolescents and teenagers who question everything they've previously been taught?

I think the answer lies in the basics. I'm teaching them in the same way I learned to trust him when I was a new believer 15 years ago - through the practice of prayer.

For over a year, I sat in my first life group and listened to people pray and then thank him for the answers - whether good or bad. Before I could read the Bible for more than a minute or two, I learned by hearing and writing the prayers and praises of others.

In my home, I use a simple prayer board like this...

When we hear a prayer need, we write it down on old scrapbooking scraps and then write the answered prayer on the backs when the time comes. I keep the answered prayers in a box so we can look back and be amazed at what God has done.

I'd love to hear how you teach your kids to know him better!

World Changers

Deep sigh.

"Well. I guess all we can do is pray."

What a pitiful expression of faith from the mouth of a faithful believer! It's an expression I hear a lot  from Christians, and I admit to saying exactly the same thing in the same listless way. Sometimes I catch myself writing my own book of lamentations.

However, it's pathetic, and we owe God an apology when we belittle His power in this way.

Our power comes from the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

He raised Him.

    He lives.

        He lives in us.

And so does His power.

The power of the Holy Spirit extends beyond our own understanding, but when we truly believe and live in the spirit, we change the world.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

Straight from the mouth of the resurrected Christ himself.

     Do you believe Him?

Yesterday

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary. '   
   "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!"
And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for all his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:1-8

Yesterday, I got a lesson in persistence. Persistence, by the way, is an attribute I need to cultivate within myself because I often find it lacking.

From the moment I woke up there was conflict. I mean this literally. My husband was cranky even before I got out of our bed in the morning, and he carried it with him all day.

It was unfair.

It was also my daughter's birthday, and even though he was in this foul mood, I was determined not to let it interfere with everything I wanted to do for her. I wasn't going to let it ruin my celebration of her life, or carry my wounding over to her in any way.

In order for this posting to be fair to my husband, I want you to know we are struggling. He's recovering from surgery and I'm recovering from a case of strep and bronchitis. I've been on two rounds of antibiotics and one course of steroids and we're trying to care for one another although we don't feel well. We're doing a remarkable job despite the circumstances.

Anyway, after I got the kids off to school, I had to come home and take a nap because I was feeling so sick. I climbed into my son's bed and shut the door. I was just drifting off to sleep when I heard a scratch at the door.

   Then another.

      Then another.

It was my dog, Titan, but I was determined to be left alone. Determined to ignore him.

Then I heard a snuffling sound, like a dolphin blowing air out of its blowhole. Then more snuffling and blowing.

   Then whining. Little pathetic whining sounds coming through the crack between the door and the floor.

That dumb dog was not giving up. He lives to snuggle with me and no barrier was going to stop him from achieving his goal. Just then, the scripture of the unfair judge and the widow came to the front of my mind. I decided, that like the widow and my dog, I was going to pray down Heaven about the conflict in my house.

I let the dog in and took a nap. For the rest of the day I prayed and didn't speak to my husband at all.

    Here I am again God. You've got to fix this. It's not right, nor fair. The battle is yours.  Today, I am going to be worse than the widow and worse than my dog. I am going to hound you about this. I will be a peacemaker. I will be called a son of God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9

I mean, I literally prayed all day. Almost 10 hours later, my husband came to me and made peace. My daughter never knew there was any strife between us and had a wonderful day of celebration.

Yesterday, God won.

    Yesterday, I won.

        Yesterday, Titan won.

Whatever It Takes!

Yesterday, at church, our pastor preached about being the type of people who do whatever it takes to reconcile others to Jesus Christ. He used the Apostle Paul as an example of someone who'd been so radically changed by Jesus, that he risked his life and comfort, in order to win others to Him.

In 2nd Corinthians 11:23 - 29, Paul tells about the danger he faced, enduring beatings,  shipwrecks, hunger and more.

Because of God's grace and the saints who went before us, we don't have to face death in order to win people to Christ. We are, however, called to serve, love one another and do whatever it takes to invite people into God's family so they can know Him and share in His blessings.

As I listened to the sermon, I thought about my friends serving in Children's Ministry. They're not out front and visible like the greeters, ushers and worship team. They're usually in a secure area, tucked away from the crowds and providing an unseen, yet vital ministry.

These are the servants of the next generation...

In their honor, I had a little fun with 2 Corinthians 11:23-29...

Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in children’s ministry more frequently, been head-butted more severely, and been exposed to bodily fluids again and again. Five times I received from the little ninjas, punches and kicks. Three times I was beaten with Tonka Trucks, once I was pooped on, three times I was puked on, I spent an entire service rocking a baby to sleep, I have been constantly taking kids to the bathroom. I have been in danger from virus exposure, in danger from toddlers with sharp objects, in danger from my own loss of sanity, in danger from kids with anger management issues; in danger in the nursery, in danger in the toddler room, in danger at the elementary level; and in danger from complaining parents. I have labored and toiled and have often covered myself in hand sanitizer; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without getting to a service; I have been cranky and exhausted, and yet still have to smile. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern that all these kids be with Jesus in Heaven.

And...it is all worth it.

                                                                                  Whatever it takes!

Praying Big

I'm in Maryland visiting my mom for the holidays and wanted to tell a quick story of how cool God is:

My brother, who I haven't seen in two years, came with his family to spend time with us last night. We greeted them at the front door and when we went to close it, noticed the storm door wouldn't shut. It was completely stuck in an open position and no one could figure out how it happened.

Four adults took turns trying to fix it: my husband, my brother, my mom, and her friend. No luck. We were wasting too much time on it so I said, "Just shut the front door for now and we'll get it later. Maybe it'll relax." They shut it and I prayed, "Lord, please just fix the door."

A few hours later, my brother went out to warm up his car. He came back in and said, "Hey! Who fixed the door?" Everyone else was astounded, but not me; I was just smiling.

The most important aspect of remaining unstuck is believing that God can.

     He can.

         He will.

             He wants to.

If we'll just ask. Prayer is an act of humility and faith. Fixing a door may not seem prayer worthy but it would have been another unexpected expense for my mom who's already been loaded down with unexpected expenses this year. It mattered to me, so my Heavenly Father answered my prayer.

He wants to do the same for all of us.

I realize I've got several obstacles to pray over in 2012 and God's prepping me for a new kind of prayer. These aren't small things, they're huge boulders blocking me from doing his will and major faith is needed to bust through them. In my mind's eye, I picture them exploding into bits.

I believe He will.

Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.  Isaiah 40:10

Experiencing God

I love the Lord because he hears my voice 

     and my prayer for mercy.

Because he bends down to listen,

     I will pray as long as I have breath!

       Psalm 116:1-2

Picture God bending down to listen to your prayers. How awesome is that?

Sometimes I get confused about following God's direction, but when I do, all I have to do is pray to Him, and then listen, and do what He says. Like just now. He reminded me of a book that'd been helpful to me, so I stopped typing and grabbed it for you.

Many years ago, my friends and I read a book together called, Experiencing God, by Henry T. Blackaby and Claude V. King. It's about knowing and doing the will of God and it's life-changing. I can just hear the voice of my friend Emily, reminding me that when we don't know which direction to go, we just do the last thing He told us to do. That's a nugget she picked up from it and now, seven years later, it still helps me.

I was trying to find that chapter and instead, I found this great line on prayer and obedience:

"Becoming a person of prayer will require a major adjustment of your life to God. Prayer will always be a part of the obedience. It is in a prayer relationship that God gives further direction."

Before we get overly concerned about what to do, we must become obedient and we must, at all costs, be in a personal relationship with Him in order to hear his voice. Prayer is the foundation of that relationship.

I'm a big fan of highlighters and I mark up and write (in many different colors) all over my books. This page gave me a chuckle because I'd highlighted almost every sentence except one about the cost of prayer:

"You may need to let God wake you up in the middle of the night to pray. You may need to spend much time in prayer."

Apparently, my sleep seemed far more important at the time.

If you're looking for a great read for the New Year, I highly recommend this book!